Stoichkov: Berbatov Certain to Play for Galatasaray

The Bulgarian star striker of Manchester United Dimitar Berbatov will be purchased by Turkey's Galatasaray, according to Bulgarian football legend Hristo Stoichkov.

Stoichkov was quoted by Turkish sports news site Fanatik on Saturday as saying that Berbatov is certain to play for Galatasaray. The information source of Stoichkov, who is currently the head coach of Bulgarian team Litex Lovech, remains unclear.

There are also reports in the Turkish media that Berbatov and his manager Emil Danchev landed secretly in Istanbul on Friday, and even visited the headquarters of Galatasaray in order to negotiate the transfer.

According to Turkish paper Fotomac, Berbatov even said that his future work with Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim was making him "proud".

The reports say Galatasaray is expected to pay GBP 5 M to Manchester United for Dimitar Berbatov, and that Berbatov's annual salary at the Turkish club will be EUR 4 M.

For the past two years, there have been various speculations about Berbatov's future, with numerous teams from across Europe being slated to become his transfer destination.

Manchester United bought Berbatov from Tottenham Spurs in 2008 for the then record price of GBP 30.75 M.